Social Work

Course Learning Outcomes are measurable statements that are used to identify the specific knowledge and skills that a student should have at the end of a course.

SOWK 1101
L1- Demonstrate familiarity with the nature and function of social work and the social welfare system.
L2- Describe generalist social work practice.
L3- Begin to engage, assess, intervene and evaluate individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities in a variety of social welfare contexts.
L4- Apply social work ethical principles to help guide social work practice.
L5- Develop and apply critical thinking skills to inform and communicate professional judgments.

SOWK 3308
L1- Explain competently the stages of the research process.
L2- Define key terms and concepts. 
L3- Describe and competently critique the various research methodologies.
L4- Explain deductive vs. inductive research methodologies and the strength and weaknesses of each.
L5- Demonstrate the ability to derive hypotheses from theories, and to operationalize concepts.
L6- Explain the strengths and weakness of major types of research designs concepts.
L7- Explain the strengths and weakness of major types of research designs.
L8- Produce segments of a research paper that demonstrates mastery of key terms/concepts; deriving hypotheses from theories; and collecting and analyzing data that properly tests study hypotheses.

SOWK 3372
L1- Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context.  Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication.  Use technology ethically and appropriately facilitate practice outcomes, and use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.
L2- Demonstrate anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice at the individual, family, group, organizational, community, research, and policy levels; and demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences.
L3- Apply research findings to inform and improve practice, policy, and programs, and identify ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive strategies that address inherent biases for use in quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance the purposes of social work.
L4- Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.
L5- Apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies; and demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan.
L6- Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
L7- Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes; and critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 3373
L1- Students will demonstrate understanding of professional behavior and ethical conduct in regards to practice with mezzo level systems. (EPAS Competencies 1a-e and 2a-c)
L2- Students will demonstrate the ability to engage, assess, intervene and evaluate with groups. (EPAS Competencies 6 a-b; 7 b-c; 8 a-b, e)
L3- Students will utilize critical thinking and research evidence to inform practice. (EPAS Competency 4 a-c)
L4- Students will demonstrate the ability to engage diversity and difference in practice. (EPAS Competency 2 a-c)

SOWK 3374
L1- Apply knowledge of human behavior and social environments.
L2- Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate personal judgments.
L3- Apply personal reflection to a biopsychosocial context.
L4- Recognize how professional ethics and values and the management of personal values and biases guide effective social work practice.
L5- Identify key biological, psychological, and social systems that influence human development across each age group.
L6- Recognize differential effects of class, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and culture in the process of human development.

SOWK 3375
L1- Critically analyze professional values, ethical dilemmas and ethical decision making and their impact on service delivery, policy and practice.
L2- Apply a beginning level of skill in utilizing empirical knowledge to evaluate theoretical frameworks, their underlying assumptions, intervention plans and practice effectiveness.
L3- Identify, critique, apply and evaluate social work theories and methods from a strengths-based generalist perspective for effective service delivery to diverse individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
L4- Identify aspects of human diversity within and between groups and the implications for this diversity in assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation.
L5- Demonstrate knowledge of leadership and advocacy skills, conflict management and interprofessional collaboration at all levels of social work practice to promote social and economic justice.
L6- Communicate effectively and professionally, both orally and in writing, assessment, intervention and evaluation plans for diverse client systems that enhance client strengths, capacities, assets and resources.

SOWK 3379
L1- Understand diversity and its relationship to social work practice, values, and ethics.
L2- Examine the concepts of oppression, diversity, intersectionality, and resiliency.
L3- Understand the concepts of cultural competence and cultural humility and its application to social work practice.
L4- Examine the foundation for social work practice characterized by cultural competence and cultural humility, recognizing and working against oppression.
L5- Critically examine your own values and ethics in the context of social work practice to diverse populations.

SOWK 4417
L1- To provide an introduction to the various models of team assessment processes.
L2- To provide an overview of the assessment goals and procedures associated with the disciplines of the course.
L3- To develop an appreciation for and describe the various disciplines associated with the course and to recognize the overlap of the disciplines.
L4- To integrate the information from the various disciplines into that of the student’s own profession.
L5- To provide clinical training opportunities in the interdisciplinary team assessment process for advanced students.

SOWK 4421
L1- Students learn about the historical development and current status of American Families using sociological theories and concepts.
L2- Students can interpret government data tables, figures and graphs.
L3- Students can distinguish different family structures and identify trends in family life based on government statistics.
L4- Students can identify socio-cultural influences that lead to different types of family structures and processes.
L5- Students can explain processes of family formation and dissolution and problems facing families from a sociological perspective.
L6- Students can connect specific historical and contemporary demographic data to social institutions and determine the impact of various social institutions on families.

SOWK 4435
L1- To build awareness about the most important environmental issues of our time and how they are likely to shape our lives.
L2- To understand the most influential theories within environmental sociology and similar environmental social sciences.
L3- To better understand the social, cultural, political, and economic underpinnings of environmentally relevant values and behaviors.  How has industrialization, globalization, and modern lifestyle norms affected the natural environment?  How has it affected modern human lifestyles?
L4- To familiarize ourselves with the social consequences and social responses to specific large-scale and ongoing environmental disruption.  What environmental problems have humans run into so far, and what, if anything, have we done to address them?  Additionally, if we have not done very much, why not, and what are the barriers that have gained the most traction against efforts for change?

SOWK 4435
L1- Compare and contrast the various types of elite deviance.
L2- Evaluate key theories in terms of their empirical adequacy.
L3- Define key concepts.
L4- Describe the basic patterns of various types of elite deviance.
L5- Engage in well-informed discussions about explanations and policies.
L6-Identify key characteristics of various types of offenders and victims.
L7- Explore social responses to elite deviance.

SOWK 4438
L1- Students will increase their awareness of the diversity of human sexual practices. 
L2- Students will improve their recognition of the influence of sexuality on identity. 
L3- Students will learn to examine critically personal and social effects of sexual practices.
L4- Students will learn and identify myths and stereotypes surrounding specific forms of sexual deviance.
L5- Students will learn effective approaches to understanding and addressing sexual offending and treatment. 
L6- Students will increase their awareness of difficult clinical and policy issues surrounding human sexuality, law and crime.  

SOWK 4451
L1- Students will demonstrate awareness and sensitivity toward vulnerable populations and ways that special needs may be met and such persons empowered (EPAS 1-4, 6-9).
L2- Students will demonstrate completion of written assignments with professionalism and clarity (EPAS 1)
L3- Students will articulate knowledge and application of theory to practice (EPAS 1)

SOWK 4452
L1- Compare and contrast the various types of gang organizations.
L2- Evaluate key theories of gangs in terms of their empirical adequacy.
L3- Define key concepts.
L4- Describe and compare and contrast the major street gangs and prison gangs in the United States.
L5- Engage in well-informed discussions about explanations and policies. Identify key characteristics of various types of crimes, offenders, and victims, especially various types of violence.

SOWK 4454
L1- Compare and contrast the various types of mass shooters.
L2- Evaluate key theories in terms of their empirical adequacy.
L3- Define key concepts.
L4- Describe the typologies of mass murderers.
L5- Engage in well-informed discussions about explanations and policies.
L6- Identify key characteristics of various types of crimes, offenders, and victims.

SOWK 4455
L1- The history of the prison.
L2- The way that theories of corrections shape the prison.
L3- Prison conditions.
L4- Challenges individuals experience on reentry.

SOWK 4456
L1- Apply theory-based practice interventions and best/evidence-based practices to achieve client goals and outcomes.
L2- Effectively engage with diverse client systems in clinical practice settings.
L3- Accurately implement a wide range of assessment models relevant to clinical practice with diverse clients.  Effectively manage personal affective reactions and demonstrate emotional regulation with client systems during the assessment process.
L4- Apply knowledge of appropriate evidence-based clinical practice theories and intervention models.  Collaboratively choose and implement evidence-based interventions that respect social diversity and promote cultural awareness in order to achieve client goals and enhanced capacity for change.  Appropriately and collaboratively terminate client services when goals have been met and/or transitions are necessary.

SOWK 4457
L1- Demonstrate an understanding of key parent disciplines, areas, and methodologies within forensic behavioral science.
L2- Become familiar with training requirements and practice standards associated with different forensic behavioral science approaches.
L3- Learn and begin to apply multiple theories to explain behavior and potential motivations across different classifications of crime.
L4- Learn how basic forensic psychosocial assessments are conducted, written, and utilized.
L5- Become familiar with legal processes and how forensic behavioral scientists’ function within these processes.

SOWK 4460
L1- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
L2- Engage difference and diversity in practice.
L3- Advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
L4- Social workers engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
L5- Engage in policy practice.
L6- Engage with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L7- Assess individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L8- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
L9- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4466
L1- Understand and critically discuss the fundamental theories and concepts used in rural sociology and community development.
L2- Learn to apply these theories and concepts to understand rural social institutions and change, including why and how communities are changing and with what effects.
L3- Gain a general background in some of the key focal areas of rural sociology, including demographic change, the environment, food and agriculture, social inequality, and development/globalization.
L4- Become aware of some of the tools used by community developers and academic critiques of those tools.
L5- Improve your ability as an independent and critical thinker. Learn to work under conditions of uncertainty and minimal direction.

SOWK 4471
L1- Describe the historical basis for the current U.S. social welfare system.
L2- Describe and analyze current social welfare policies, procedures, and programs.
L3- Discuss the strengths and limitations of the current social welfare system.
L4- Explain how culturally sensitive social welfare policies are developed.
L5- Summarize the skills social workers use to influence the policy process.
L6- Understanding how policy practice influences individuals and families.

SOWK 4473
L1- Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication. Use technology ethically and appropriately facilitate practice outcomes, and use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.
L2- Advocate for human rights at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community system levels; and engage in practices that advance human rights to promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L3- Demonstrate anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice at the individual, family, group, organizational, community, research, and policy levels; and demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences.
L4- Apply research findings to inform and improve practice, policy, and programs, and identify ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive strategies that address inherent biases for use in quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance the purposes of social work.
L5- Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services; apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L6- Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.
L7- Apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies; and demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan.
L8- Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
L9- Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes; and critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4474
L1- Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication. Use technology ethically and appropriately facilitate practice outcomes, and use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.
L2- Advocate for human rights at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community system levels; and engage in practices that advance human rights to promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L3- Demonstrate anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice at the individual, family, group, organizational, community, research, and policy levels; and demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences.
L4- Apply research findings to inform and improve practice, policy, and programs, and identify ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive strategies that address inherent biases for use in quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance the purposes of social work.
L5- Use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services; apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L6- Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.
L7- Apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies; and demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan. 
L8- Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
L9- Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes; and critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4484
L1- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
L2- Engage difference and diversity in practice.
L3- Advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
L4- Social workers engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
L5-Engage in policy practice.
L6- Engage with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L7- Assess individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L8- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
L9- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4485
L1- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
L2- Engage difference and diversity in practice.
L3- Advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice.
L4- Social workers engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
L5-Engage in policy practice.
L6- Engage with individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L7- Assess individuals, groups, families, organizations, and communities.
L8- Intervene with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
L9- Evaluate practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4487
L1- Assist the student to recognize the distinctiveness of child welfare as a field of practice within the social work profession. (EPAS 2015, Competency 1)
L2- Introduce the student to social work practice as it applies to the field of child welfare. (EPAS 2015, Competency 1)
L3- Foster a historical perspective on how and why child welfare services developed and examine the current socioeconomic context in which they operate. (EPAS 2015, Competencies 3 & 5)
L4- Assist students to understand the range of child welfare services currently utilized such as support, both supplementary and substitutive. (EPAS 2015, Competencies 8 & 9)
L5- Increase exposure to child welfare issues which impact the lives of ethnic minority and special needs children, such as health care, adoptions, foster care, mainstreaming and community support services. (EPAS 2015, Competency 2)
L6- Help students operationalize social work knowledge, ethics, values and problem-solving skills in the practice settings of child welfare. (EPAS 2015, Competency 1)
L7- Introduce the idea of working with children who have been traumatized and who experience traumatic stress. (EPAS 2015, Competencies 7, 8, 9, & 10)

SOWK 4494
L1- Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication. Use technology ethically and appropriately facilitate practice outcomes, and use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.
L2- Advocate for human rights at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community system levels; and engage in practices that advance human rights to promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L3- Apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies. Use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.
L4- Apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies and demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan.
L5- Engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals and incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
L6- Select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes and critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

SOWK 4498
L1- Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
L1- Advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
L3- Engage in anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in practice.
L4- Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
L5- Engage in policy practice.
L6- Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
L7- Assess individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.
L8- Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.
L9- Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities